Blood and Boots REPOST
by Lynnie-chan
Summary: Okie So this is a repost of my western AU Ichigo Kenpachi story. I have found spell check nad am in the process of rewritting it. It is rated M for malexmale love in later chapter's. Read/Review ect. It makes me smile! I OWN NOTHING
1. Chapter 1

Boots and Blood ch.1

{AN: I know, im starting another story, I couldnt help it, this idea has been in my head for a bit and the plot bunny wouldnt let me not write it. So Ichigo is a new doctor leaving home for the first time to travel West. He has no place to go, a hosue to build, and has to wonder if his job will help anyone at all. And ontop of that he has to wonder why the large building of a man and the pink haired little girl tug his heart strings so strong. PS:This is a AU Western story}

_"Are you sure you want to do this son?"_

_"I'm sure, you and mom have your hands full with the twins, and I'm old enough to go off, bedside's the West needs me more, you can understand that cant you pop?"_

_The older man sighed and ran a hand through his spiky salt and pepper hair as he looked at his only son. He knew the man was talking about the call he felt to help people. Ichigo was a bright boy, he had been since he was born. He was walking before he was a year old! he had learned a lot from his father being the first doctor in their little city. But as it as, now his son wasn't the little boy who crawled around clinging to his mother's skirt's or would run to the door when he came home from a long day. He was a grown man._

_"Ichigo is right dear. Perhaps, it's time for him to spread his wings. Remember when you left home you weren't much older than Ichigo." A woman said, she had a gentle smile and long thick strawberry blond hair pulled into a french braid with a few wisps of hair brushing her face and kind honey brown eyes. She moved towards the young man and placed a hand on the man's cheek, her only son, and smiled a kind knowing smile. Her son knew they were over crowded and the girls were getting older, and she also knew her son wanted to be free. So with a hug and a kiss she gave her son her silent blessings and understanding that he needed to be free._

It seemed like it was year's ago that Ichigo heard his mother and father saying those words, helped him pack the wagon and telling him to be careful and write as often as possible and to be careful. His father told him to pleasant but not to linger and let his thing's be taken. His younger twin sisters also said their goodbye's, Yuzu crying and begging her big brother to stay while Karin merely told him goodbye and hugged his waist before hastily pulling back. His father had shook his hand and his mother hugged him again. The memories brought a smile to the young tangerine haired males face, he had been on the trail for three weeks. He knew that he was coming close to a town, he had passed already two other wagon's and the owner's had told him that there was a town about a day's travel away that he could most likely buckle down if he so wished and was willing to work.

"Almost there Zan I promise." The man said as he leaned forward and patted the large black beast's back side in encouragement. Zangetsu was a horse that Ichigo had been rewarded with a month after he told his parent's of his dreams of going West and becoming a doctor to a town that didn't have one. He had been surprised but happy and sad all at the same time because he knew that his father had spent a pretty penny on the prize black stallion, but he knew that at the same time he couldn't go West without a way. So he worked hard for three month's in his father's office and doing any job's he could find in the city to make extra money to buy his needed supplies and gave his parent's the rest of the money he knew that they needed more, and rode off into the sunset.

Ichigo sighed shaking his head. It was a hot day in the beginning of the summer. His cotton white shirt was causing sweat to bead on his forehead, and roll down his neck, he had already rolled his sleeves up to his elbow's and stopped twice to get water, he couldn't keep stopping and going less he make his horse turn lame or risk his wheels giving out. Then he would be in trouble since he had already used the one spare wheel that the wagon had. A tanned hand released the reigns and pushed up the black broad rimmed cowboy hat up from the males forehead and whipped at the sweat that was insistent on beading there and dripping into chocolate brown eyes causing a stinging feeling to the eyes.

So after readjusting the hat, the male clicked to the horse and sighed. One last hill and he should be able to see the town that he had been hearing about. The wheels creaked and his horse huffed and strained against his load trying had to continue on. 'After this he's going to need a lot of TLC' Ichigo thought as he watched his horse's tail flicked at the flies and mosquitoes. Yeah those beasts were something bothering the nineteen year old as well. They seemed to enjoy sucking his blood like nothing else. Though just as the male was about to stop again and tackle the small hill tomorrow, when he realized that they were already at the top.

Looking down he smiled faintly. The town was small, but it seemed like it was busy for the most part. There was a general store, a sheriff's office beside it, a saloon across the street, a blacksmith's, and some other shops that Ichigo couldn't be sure, but he saw one sign that made him sigh in relief. It simply said 'Hotel.' That hopefully meant that the young man could get into the dinning room and get something hot to eat, since he wasn't as good a cook as his mother, and the bread she had packed him had long since lost it's freshness and trail food wasn't the best to eat compared to a fresh cooked meal.

"We're here Zan, just get us down the hill and you'll get a good brush down." Ichigo said, his voice taking on a new lightness, he was relived to be able to stop, and if the seeded step of his horse, the large was going down the hill , he was anxious to stop to. Though the speed ended up causing the young doctor to pull back on the reigns to keep him from running top speed he couldn't risk the horse or the wagon so close to their final stop. Though after about twenty five minuets later, he was pulling his horse into the front of the general store and jumping down from the bouncy, uncomfortable wooden seat and began to brush the beast down after unhitching his bit and reigns. He would move to the hotel in a few minute's, right now he needed to thank his companion that came the long three week journey with him.

"Handsome horse you got there."

The voice startled the tanned skinned male making him turn to the plywood sidewalk and raised a brow seeing a man with his arms crossed over his chest as he leaned against the open door of the general store, a easy smile on his lips as he eyed Ichigo.

"You new in town?"

"Yeah, just arrived. I'm Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Renji Abari, I run the general store here with my wife Rukia."

Ichigo nodded as he spied a little woman in the store helping another woman with a little girl swinging on her arm, picking out bolts of fabric's for something or another, and nodded before raising a brow as the red head man smiled.

"If your looking for the hotel, 'faid to say it's full up at the moment. Had a wagon train come through bout, oh three day's ago, some stayed others left. Some waiting for the next train in bout two week's or so. But the boarder house is down that road, large white house, real nice lady, when you find it ask for the Mrs., She's the one who handles the business."

Ichigo nodded in thanks and turned taking a hold of his horse and began walking beside him, Zangetsu was a pretty calm horse and didn't always need to be under the reins, he would easily follow Ichigo so long as he wasn't going a long distance. And if the mans directions were right he would be there in less than ten minunet's, hopefully the woman wouldn't mind a stranger asking for a room for a bit. He of course planned on moving into his own home, but that would take time, money, materials and the likes. So for now he looked up at the house and walked through the gate leaving Zangetsu out of the gate to bite at the grass as he went and knocked on the door to have it open up to reveal a older woman with a long braid and kind blue eyes in a red calico print skirt and a white buttoned up shirt with a apron tied around her waist reminding Ichigo so much of his mother, making a clench appear in his heart.

"Hello may I help you young man?"

Well it was now or never.


	2. Chapter 2

Boots and Blood ch.2

Ichigo looked at the young woman and smiled a warm smile. "Hello Ma'am. My name is Ichigo Kurosaki, and I was told down at the general store, that this was the boarder house?" The tan cowboy asked with a faint smile.

The older woman's eyes twinkled softly and she nodded. "Well please come in young man." The woman said stepping aside and opening the door a little wider allowing the young stranger inside her home. The inside was hard wood floor's with braided red and brown rugs. There were kids running around left and right while a older man with tan skin and golden eyes was talking to a younger looking male with blue eyes that looked like they could burst into tears any moment and three young women dressed much like their mother cleaning up.

"Isane, dear can you wake Yachiru from her nap? her father should be arriving soon." The older woman said making a silver haired girl nod. "Yes mama." The silver haired woman said disappearing down a hallway.

Retsu then turned to Ichigo and smiled again leading him into a large airy kitchen where a large potbelly stove was resting in the corner letting off a warm heat and the scent of dinner cooking.

There were cabinet's and counter's lining the right side while a large bucket sat in one of the hollowed out cabinets on the left that would serve for the place to wash the dishes. "Would you like a cup of tea?" The woman asked making Ichigo smile.

"Much appreciated." The youth said as he removed his hat out of manner's and put it on his lap. His mother had taught him that a hat inside the house and at the table was a clear sign of disrespect and he was a lot of things but disrespectful wasn't one of those things.

"I'm afraid with the children that have just returned home, we're full up here." The woman said moving to sit across from Ichigo as she sat down a glass cup of warm sweet tea and a plate of monkey bread, before sighing softly. "I'm very sorry you-"

"Mama! mama! Yachiru's choking something awful!" The woman named Isane said as she suddenly burst into the kitchen carrying a child no older than six, coughing and hacking and her little face scrunched up into a horrible scowl as she tossed her head back and fourth,skin turning a sickly pale.

Ichigo, out of his doctor instinct's, jumped up and looked at the silver haired woman. "Set the child on the table." He said as he quickly moved to hover over the little girl and pried her mouth open. "Do you have anything to give me more light?" He said harshly as he fought the little girl to be still, since even if she was small she fought like a grown man would.

"Yes, Isane, bring the new lamp in." Retsu said quickly as she moved to be over Yachiru's head to keep her arms from beating on the man. The tall young woman nodded and quickly returned with the oil lamp and held it over the stranger's head and Yachiru's mouth. The added light did a great deal of help and Ichigo could see what was causing the little girl such a painful wake from her nap.

"Ma'am do you have some tweezers or something of the likes?" The man asked as he raised his coco brown eyes to the older woman. His look urgent and pleading with the older woman to hurry and comply with his wishes for the tools he asked for.

Retsu nodded and quickly turned around in the kitchen and began pulling open a drawer and retrieved the tweezers, handing the young man the tools that he requested.

Ichigo quickly took the tool and looked at the little girl who was hacking and coughing harder. "Can you hold her still and possibly open her mouth for me?" He asked. Again the woman nodded and her daughter Isane moved one hand to holding the lamp and the other to hold the little girls mouth open while Retsu held the girl still as possible and Ichigo nodded and put the tweezers into the tiny mouth and quickly took a hold of the tiny little toy and pulled it out of her mouth.

The cause for such a fuss in the little girl's schedule? a tiny wooden cat toy had some how ended up in her mouth and got wedged inside her throat side ways. It had a pointed edge jabbing into her throat causing it to bleed, it wasn't deadly, though the fact that it was blocking her breathing and would of been deadly had it not been removed.

"There now, she will be fine." The young man said as he handed the tweezers back to Retsu and the toy to the young woman named Isane who smiled softly and nodded in thanks as a little pink puff ball girl opened magenta colored eyes and blinked. "Mama?" She whispered softly.

Ichigo blinked going wide eyed. "No sweet heart my name is Ichigo Kurosaki." He said as he patted her arm. The little girl smiled. "Ichi!" She said happily as she jumped into the mans arms smiling. Ichigo was a little at a loss. Really he wasn't used to just strangers children wanting to be cuddled so much, especially since he just met the little girl. But seeing the sweet child so happy and out of harms way, he happily returned the little snuggle.

But before Ichigo could really access the little girl, there was a knocking on the door making the man jump since it seemed like there was a hurricane banging on the door, though the little girl simply smiled.

"DADDY'S HERE!" She squealed as the older woman merely smiled. "My Yachiru, calm down now child, papa knows your here and aren't you sitting with our guest." The motherly woman said as she stood and walked towards the back door in the kitchen and opened it revealing a large man built like a brick house making Ichigo's eyes widen slightly.

The man who the little puff ball in his arms called 'daddy' stood at a threatening six foot seven. He had muscles that were straining under the fabric of his starched white shirt, and the brown trouser's stretched over his leg's and looked like the suspender's were strained to their limit to fit his tall frame. The man had tan skinned and dark green golden eyes with a grave face and a long scar on one side while one eye was covered with a patch making the young doctor wonder what the tale behind it was.

"Daddy!" The girl cheered again jumping from Ichigo's lap to the large man's waiting arms.

'Surely this man cannot be the girls father.' Ichigo thought, though when the man let a faint smile come to his lips as he caught the child Ichigo was proved wrong.

"Hey brat, were you good for ?" Kenpachi asked, his voice low and gravely like he had been behind to many wagons when they kicked up dust. Yachiru just smiled. "Yup and the nice new man checked me out when I couldn't breathe." She said flashing a smile that was missing two front teeth.

Kenpachi was now used to hearing his daughter reveal interesting stories from being at the boarding house, though hearing a man had checked his daughter out when she couldn't breath snapped his attention to the woman with questions filling his eye. Such as 'what in the name of god happened to my kid when I wasn't here?'

Though Retsu merely smiled. "It seems that Yachiru got a hold of one of the toys and swallowed it, though thankfully the new doctor was here to help us." The woman said as she turned to see her husband and son walking in.

"Hello Kenpachi." "Hello Mayuri." Said man looked over the larger man was a weed in his home, though he kept his mouth shut since his wife was a force to be reckoned with when she was truly angered, and since she seemed fond of the man and his daughter, Mayuri merely ignored him and turned to look at the other man he did not know in his home. "Retsu, who is this man?" He suddenly asked eying Ichigo curiously. His wife though wasn't listening and was instead nodding as Yachiru recalled helping the older woman in her garden and helping the older Nemu preparing her wedding dress for a summer wedding.

"So your the man who helped my brat eh?" Ichigo had, in a sense, rude as it was, been a little lost in his own world. He was trying to figure out where to go, he could still sleep in his wagon he supposed, he had been doing it for the past three weeks. "Ah yes, I am a doctor, and well, I couldn't really allow her to choke to death." He said as he shook the man's large calloused hand.

Kenpachi eyed the young man over and smirked, he was a new one he could see that, and he looked like he had just left home, that was cute, and the fact that he was a doctor, and he saved Yachiru. That meant a lot to him and earned his respect.

"So where ya from?" The older man asked in the deep gravely voice. "Back East, three weeks to get here. But I had a feeling that the West needed me more, seems like I was right since I was here today." He said softly a faint smile coming to his lips as he looked at the young girl who was bouncing around the dark haired girl who seemed to be looking for something. Kenpachi nodded, he had been from further West, though, well those memories weren't something he wanted to think about today."So where are you bunking down at tonight?" He asked.

"Ah Kenpachi, now that your here, I'm afraid our new resident doctor hasn't had a chance to begin to find a place. The hotel is still full from the wagon train that just came through, and with Nemu preparing for her wedding with her own beau.."

Kenpachi raised a hairless brow, he was sure that the woman was hinting at something but he wasn't sure he liked where the conversation was going, though for now he stayed silent and waited. "Perhaps he can stay with you until he is able to find a job and he can buy the material to build his own house?" The woman asked with a bright smile.

"He's got a wagon don't 'e?" Kenpachi asked with a 'not happening' snort. The glare that burned though Retsu's usually kind blue eyes sent a shiver down the large man's spine but he nodded. "Alright alright I can give 'em the room with Yachiru and I'll take the lean to." The gruff voice spoke.

Ichigo raised a brow hearing all of this. "I-I don't want to be a bother." The orange haired man said, he didn't either, the man didn't seem to interested in him being there, but the little girl seemed happy.

"Yay! doctor Ichi is going to come spend the night!" She said happily spinning in the pale peach dress with the white lace ruffling the end of the skirt and the sleeves as well. Her pink hair braided into two tiny pigtails, her wide smile speaking volumes and Ichigo simply couldn't refuse her. Though the large man looking at him was another story.

"It's alright, I owe you my thanks for saving the brat anyway." Kenpachi said, and it was true, that and he didn't want to face the wrath of a angry Retsu Kurotsuchi, that was what nightmares were made of. So instead he turned to look at his daughter. "You ready Yachiru?" "Yes daddy!" The girl said stopping mid spin to move to her father's side and hold her arms up to be held.

Nemu raised her own violet eyes and smiled, the thought of marriage and children on her mind as she thought of her own beau, the resident teacher in town Uryuu Ishida. Their wedding would be in the spring, close to Easter when the pastor passed through their little town, that was only in a few week's, and then she would be Ishida. The thought bringing a bright blush to the usually closed off girls cheeks before she was startled from her thoughts at the voice of her mother.

"Nemu, collect Yachiru's thing's, they have a long trip back to their home." Retsu said as she went about getting some cookies and short cake for the little girl that she cared for during the working hour's.

"Thanks again Retsu." Kenpachi said as he took the plate and the little basket that carried Yachiru's things that she needed throughout the day when Kenpachi was working. So with that and a final thanks, the three were walking out of the back door and towards a nice sized wagon that was being pulled by two large brown geldings.

Kenpachi patted the rump of one of the beasts as he got Yachiru in the back and handed her her own little basket that held her spare dresses a should she get dirty throughout the day. He then turned and watched as Ichigo led his own wagon behind the yard. "If ya wanting to follow, our place is just up the road 'bout five miles or so." He said earning a nod as he climbed into the springy seat on his own wagon and clicked the reigns for the horses to begin the journey home.

Behind him, Ichigo urged Zangetsu on with encouraging words and promises of a good rub down when they stopped. He wasn't sure why he had agreed to go to stay with this man when he didn't know him from Joe, though, the little girl had tugged his heart strings for some reason, and she seemed so happy about the idea of him staying the night, and he did like the thought of possibly sleeping in a bed instead in the back of his wagon. He wouldn't stay long though, just long enough to get his practice well known and to get his own house built, then he would pay the man for allowing Ichigo to stay and be on his way.


	3. Chapter 3

Boots and Blood ch.3

Kenpachi sighed at the two mare's that pulled the waggon towards home. In the back Yachiru was singing and laughing and blabbering on about thing's that children did. He wasn't sure what to think about letting this stranger come and stay with him. But he did suppose he owed the man. He saved his daughters life, and he knew that he would be even more of a 'monster' without the little pink haired girl since without her, he would have truly nothing.

So as the pink puff ball sang and laughed, he looked ahead at the road. The house was at the bottom of a little hill that was a good thirty minunet's away from Retsu's home. Kenpachi built it with his own two hands with the help of the other men who lived in the town when he moved here. Things had been different then, he was a husband with a new born child, and he had come here with his wife to give her a life, the life she wanted, but then..then thing's changed, she got sick and simply didn't get better. But once again he forced the thought's out of his head since he didn't want to think about it, now wasn't the time, that was years ago, and though the pain was fresh still in his mind, he forced himself to listen to Yachiru and let a wary smile tease his lips as their homestead came into view.

The home was a standard wood cabin. There was two rooms, the bedroom and the lean to. The kitchen was a nice sized room, and though Kenpachi could hardly cook it was nice having enough space for him to move around in there. There was a barn about thirty feet or so away from the house and a nice sized pasture for the cow's and horses. Then there was the chicken coop. That was Yachiru's favorite place on the farm, because she got a kick out of throwing grass and tormenting the animals with her loud squeals.

There was also a pig pen, a root cellar, and a garden. Kenpachi spent his day's in town though. That was why he didn't have a field with wheat. He didn't have the time, and Yachiru was to young and he didn't have the money to pay any of the young men in town to work for him. So he had what he could pay for and taught his daughter to be content and not a spoiled child that wanted thing's they couldn't afford or didn't need.

"Down there's home. You can leave your horse in the stable when we get there." Kenpachi suddenly called back as he snapped the reins of his wagon to get his own two horses moving a little faster, he still had chores to do before figuring out something to cook for dinner. The wind blew through the land and cast the scent of summer to Kenpachi's nose and made the larger man sigh. This year Yachiru would be five, it was hard to believe, five year's without a mama, five year's since the large man went to bed alone, five years..

"Daddy...DADDY!"

The sound of his 'title' as he had come to know it came to his ear's made the large man turn and raise a brow. When his daughter pointed he turned and blinked before nodding, home was already coming into view, and he knew that they would be alright, so he pulled up to the home and pulled the reign's to make the mare's stop before he turned seeing another wagon pulling up, it was a new thing. Though seeing the male pulling up Kenpachi could see the youth in the man. Bright sunset hair and coffee colored brown eyes that seemed to demand the respect of a grown man but at the same time Kenpachi could see the doubt's that lingered there.

He was thin, wiry, though if he had been able to hold Yachiru down in a full out lashing fit then he had to be strong. He was in every way, opposite to Kenpachi. Though the larger man realized what he was doing and instead shook his head and turned to walk to the back of the wagon and gather the now hungry Yachiru. He didn't have to do a lot of work to get her out, merely grab her little basket and she would climb onto his shoulder, she always had, and just like always, she was climbing on top of his shoulder and taking ahold of his hair.

When she was stationary though, Kenpachi turned and saw the young doctor getting out of his wagon as well and rubbing the face of the large stallion that he had rode. He was young, but there was something there, Kenpachi would give him that, maybe he would survive out here in the West.

"I'll show ya 'round, then i've got choring to start." With that being said Kenpachi turned and led the orange haired male into the house. It was a usual house. Hard wood floor's with chinking on the walls to make it stay white, it was very much so a bacholor's home, though if you looked closely you could see the touches that said a woman used to live here. The floor rug's were braided with care, and the books on the shelf, well a few were definitely picked by a woman. And if you looked at Yachiru's clothes you would also be able to tell that a loving mother had made the dresses and skirts.

But Ichigo didn't focus to much on that and instead followed the large man into the kitchen. It was like the rest of the house, wooden. The window's though had some cheery looking curtian's, there was a large pot belly stove, and a small table with four chair's around it. Out the window Ichigo could see the chicken coop and a small garden as well. This home was cozy, comfortable, Ichigo could see why Yachiru was so excited to come home, it was a nice place.

"Come on Ichi! i'll show you my room!" Yachiru said taking ahold of the man's hand and tugged him back out of the kitchen and back through the living room and to another room. There was a little bed and a larger bed. Ichigo assumed that she shared the room with her father. But one side of the room looked like it was dedicated to her, the little bed had a pink hand made quilt with little stuffed rag dolls and a little chest with what he was assuming held her clothes.

"Lean to's down the hall, you can sleep in here with the brat. Go ahead and rest, get ya stuff settled in."

Ichigo hadn't even realized he was looking around the room until he heard the voice behind him. When he turned he could see the shadow of the large man walking out leaving Ichigo with Yachiru inside the home alone. But he smiled all the same, he was a little anxious but he doubted that the man would do something with his daughter here, so the young cowboy decided to dedicate his attention to Yachiru.

"How long does your daddy usually take in his choring?"

Yachiru paused as she looked from her rag doll and pushed a little finger to her mouth before shrugging. "Daddy's usually out there till the sun set's fully, I usually have to stay inside now, last time I tried to help daddy had to shoot a coyote, it tried to bite me while I was playing with the chicken's, so now I stay inside." She said with a shrug making Ichigo go a little wide eyed, well he could see why she was left inside but..until sun down? he would have to think of something to do to entertain them...

"Yachiru, would you like to help me cook?"

At least two hour's passed before Kenpachi was walking back towards the house. He had brushed down and fed all five horses. The two mares he took with him to pull the wagon, and the two that he had as simple saddle horses to take on his way to work or when he had to go to town. Then he took the young doctor's horse as well, since he was inside with Yachiru Kenpachi decided that he should care for the horse as well. He had also turned the hay in the stables, fed the chicken's and checked the pig's. The pasture was fenced in so he was sure that the cattle that he had would be fine, so with the nightly chores done, he trudged back towards the house with Ichigo's bag's over his shoulder and mentally prepared to cook dinner and begin the long process of putting Yachiru to bed.

But inside thing's were different. Kenpachi could smell dinner cooking, hear Yachiru laughing and he could hear the hum of another voice. And just like in the first year or so of life out here, he felt like it was how it was supposed to me. And as he set the thing's down in the living room beside the large over stuffed easy chair and put his hat down, and walked into the kitchen, his mind replayed when he could remember doing this when Yachiru was a baby, and it seemed like he was doing it again and the warm feeling once again spread through his chest as he walked into the kitchen, only this time instead of seeing a beautiful woman with long hair and a bright smile, he instead found himself looking at a young man with a relaxed expression as he explained to Yachiru why touching the oven while it was hot wasn't a good idea..and surprisingly, the same warm homey, right feeling was still there.  



End file.
